Executive Summary : | The Swachh Bharat Mission aims to clean India by converting waste biomass feedstocks like agricultural biomass residues, municipal solid wastes, and electronics wastes into drop-in biofuels (DIB). The proposal aims to develop an environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient synthesis of DIB, specifically levulinate esters (ML and BL), which improve viscosity and cold flow properties when blended with diesel/biodiesel and gasoline. The proposal aims to design and develop an energy-efficient xenon and microwave irradiation assisted ultrasound integrated-mechanoelectromagnetic (UIME) batch and continuous flow reactor with recycle facility for sustainable production of DIB. Preliminary investigation revealed that hydroxyapatite (HAP) from waste fish scales/bones and silica from WPCBA could act as low-cost mixed support for the synthesis of reusable nanometal doped magnetic catalyst (NMC). The prepared NMCs will be utilized in a specially designed xenon-microwave assisted UIME reactor to intensify the optimal yield of BL/ML at a low-energy cost. The heterogeneous reaction kinetics of the BL/ML synthesis will be evaluated using integrated-mechanoelectromagnetic batch reactor data, which will be applied for design and performance analysis under regulated xenon and microwave irradiation assisted UIME continuous flow packed bed reactor with recycle facility. The scale-up of the developed process will be performed through AspenPlus, and the overall sustainability of the DIB production process will be assessed using standard LCA software. This approach of waste valorization through cost-effective green synthesis of ML and BL will reduce global warming potential, making the process environmentally sustainable. |